


Introduction: KODZUKEN

by glimmers



Series: if you're gonna leave, turn my mic up first [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (rock band used very loosely), Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Band Fic, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Nonbinary Character, fukutoraken mentioned and fukutora hinted, marching band is also mentioned, nb akaashi n genderfluid kenma ftw, this is connected to a fine arts au i have, this is just me fleshing out kenmas character and building the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27076588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glimmers/pseuds/glimmers
Summary: He finds himself thinking of /that/ conversation once again, wondering if Kuroo ever thinks about it too.—In which Kenma pursues a career in music, recalls his musical roots, and contemplates a lost connection.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: if you're gonna leave, turn my mic up first [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976152
Kudos: 6





	Introduction: KODZUKEN

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to xin (@/rinrintoya on twt) and alice (@/angryeggo on twt) for bouncing ideas back and forth with me! i probably would have abandoned this au if it weren't for ur creative minds
> 
> a few things: kenma is genderfluid although i solely use he/him pronouns in this fic. in the future, i will be using she/he/they interchangeably. also akaashi is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.

Kuroo Tetsurou was an interesting guy. Analytical, smart, and clever to boot. Kenma grew to admire his upperclassman over the years, a genuine adoration crafted by hours of watching. Silently observing his interactions with challenges, with music, with different social groups. He truly was something else in high school.

Another interesting thing about Kuroo was that, despite how emotionally intelligent he was, his significant others always tended to break up with him for the same reason. He was simply  _ too busy _ . Balancing college-level classes, extracurriculars, and band leadership was no easy feat, and often ate into your time. Other people managed to fit in a significant other on top of it all; Cliche as it may be, he was not like other people. He was Kuroo Tetsurou, a slightly awkward yet charismatic student leader, who was bad with relationships. On one hand, he was called clingy and emotional. On the other hand, he was called warm but unavailable. 

Kozume Kenma, consistently watching from beside Kuroo, completely understood. Those were pretty astute observations. Kuroo  _ was  _ clingy because he wanted you to know you were cared for. Emotional, because how else should one be in a relationship? And lastly warm, like a human heater, emotions coming off of him in waves. The worst thing about Kuroo was that he was so warm in your presence, that his absence was nearly unbearable.  _ Nearly _ . Kenma did survive his senior year after all.

Before Kuroo graduated, he had a brief conversation with Kenma about the sum of his high school career in band. The band room, where the two spent most of their time together, became a timeless space, so much that Kuroo felt weird stepping foot in there following his grad ceremony. The room was defined by short conversations between reps during outdoor percussion ensemble, and cramping into the impossibly small space during indoor for warmups. 

It was nice to reminisce on, but he told Kenma that his senior year was the loneliest of them all. Kenma tried to reason with Kuroo, bringing up Kai, Yaku, and Bokuto, bringing up himself, but Kuroo just shook his head, and told Kenma that he “didn’t understand”. So they left it at that. A misunderstanding separating the two of them.

He couldn’t pretend that Kuroo basically ghosting him after he graduated didn’t hurt. Every interaction from that point on got shorter and shorter. It seemed like since everything was going so well with college, Kuroo didn’t need to complain to Kenma or bug him for anything at all. Kenma moped about this for the entirety of week one of the marching band season and got scolded by the front ensemble tech for slacking on warmups. The first competition of the season came and went uneventfully. Kuroo was always busy, but he made time for Kenma. Was that his penance for unintentionally making Kuroo feel lonely during  _ his _ senior year?

Hinata is the only one he tells of his insecurities, and the younger boy absorbs it and gives him back radiance, like a blessed input-output table. Other than Tora and Fukunaga, and their antics, Hinata Shoyo is probably the only other person that kept him sane during that year. 

Fast forward a couple of years, and Kenma is, surprisingly, still surrounded by music. Programming and gaming stayed his steady habits, but music and the need to absorb more about it bothered him like an itch. After piano and trumpet, he learned guitar, drumset, and recently picked up singing. He isn’t professional by any means, but the quality of his voice and his amateur skills became popular on his main youtube channel. So much that he eventually creates a separate channel for it. It’s difficult, and he’s constantly learning, but it’s fun, much more than he initially thought it’d be.

This simple little channel connects him to an old classmate, Akaashi Keiji, who’s pursuing a degree in music education. He doesn’t immediately remember what Akaashi did in high school, but he has a good guess once they offer to give him vocal lessons. 

He kindly refuses, but they begin hanging out to discuss theory and meaningless little things. Kenma isn’t one for small talk, but Akaashi makes waking up at 6 am to drink tea sound interesting. Eventually, they invite him over for a “jam session” (their words). They share lighthearted laughter and genuine smiles, and Kenma finds himself having fun. He doesn’t consider himself isolated, as he routinely visits Tora’s tattoo parlor and has dinner with him and Fukunaga every so often, but it’s quite nice to step out of his comfort zone.

Once, in conversation at a quaint little cafe, Akaashi fondly brings up their  _ very  _ silly roommate, who Kenma has yet to meet. He knows him by name, Tsukishima Kei; he apparently attended their high school as well but was a year below them. Akaashi constantly praises his abilities, and envies his talent, since he isn’t even majoring in anything music-related. Kenma’s reply to this is that Akaashi’s talent is their own, so Kei can’t be that big a deal. 

“He’s even vocally stable, and he didn’t even sing in high school! Just took the regular vocal basics like most other music majors.” Akaashi sighs into their cup, “Ah, it’s unfair. But when it bothers me too much, I just remember he’s stuck on this total tool, and it makes me feel the littlest bit better.”

Gossip. Akaashi, surprisingly, loved that, told Kenma it was a habit they picked up from an upperclassman. Kenma denies it, but Akaashi’s college gossip is a bit entertaining, occasionally.

“Oh, a tool?” Kenma says, feigning disinterest. Akaashi knows it’s a front, it always is, and continues.

“Yes, a tool. Honestly, he’s generally not a bad guy when you first meet him, but Kuroo Tetsurou is an insufferable pain once you get to know him.”

The “I know”, slips from Kenma’s mouth before he can catch himself, and he internally flinches. Akaashi’s eyes widen just a tad, then their eyebrows furrow.

“You know Kuroo Tetsurou?” they ask, innocently.

Kenma cannot help the sigh that escapes him, and he takes a sip from his drink to stall. Akaashi waits patiently for his response.

“He, ah, went to school with us. I knew him cause we were in the same section once.” he murmurs, looking down at his nails, which are suddenly interesting. He tugs at a hangnail as he carefully formulates what he’ll say next.

“Oh, I had no idea.” Akaashi honestly replies and folds their hands. “If you know any more about him, let me know so I can compile info to convince Kei that he’s an absolute pain.”

Testing the waters, Kenma leans back in his chair and moves his hands to his lap. “Why don’t you like him?”

“He was my old roommate and he had the most annoying habits.”

“Is that so…”

Kenma tries to be present for the rest of the conversation, but it really bugs him to know that Kuroo is once again within the circle of people he knows. It has been  _ years _ since he last was. 

  
He finds himself thinking of  _ that _ conversation once again, wondering if Kuroo ever thinks about it too. In all the years they’ve been apart, he’s never caught any sign of the older male trying to reach out and reconnect. He takes this as a sign, meaning that Kuroo has moved on. It’s time for him to move on as well.

**Author's Note:**

> this is the VERY beginning of this au, and there is much to come! if you wanna read another fic in this same universe, xin (spills on ao3 and @/rinrintoya on twt) has written a couple about osakomo (who i will introduce...later).
> 
> holler @ me on twt <3 (@/feauc)


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